MORE DINERS: We’re continuing the history of diners sent to us by Michael Engle of Troy, N.Y.

“Ward and Dickinson diners are my favorite diner to research. The county prothonotary office listed Margaret Moore as the purchaser of two of the diners that were known as the Bradford Dining Car Co.

“April 3rd, 1931, Ward and Dickinson filed a conditional sales docket for diner #236 with Moore owing $8,450 on the diner, to be paid in installments typically starting out at $100 a month, and increasing over time. Moore was one of a few people still buying diners during the first few years of the Great Depression, a time that many operators would be forced to throw in the towel.

“Things continued well for Margaret Moore. She purchased another diner and Ward and Dickinson would file another conditional sales docket at the Prothonotary’s office on May 13, 1935 for diner #210, a 41’6” diner with an attached kitchen. This time for $3,790. Based on the serial number, the diner was definitely a used diner. The only thing the document doesn’t tell us about the lower price: Was Ward and Dickinson desperate to sell a diner repossessed from a former owner? Or was Moore so prosperous from the other diner that she was able to pay more of a down-payment?”

He sent along a newspaper clipping from May 6, 1939, mentioning a diner at 401 East Main Street, too.

“A 1940 blurb mentions that the Bradford Dining Car Company got permission to move this diner out of town and move the older Congress Street diner to East Main at Kendall. My thought is that diner #210 was the Congress Street diner for a few years, but I might need building permit records to confirm that,” he said.

“Here’s to hoping that someone realizes how unique of a treasure the current Congress Street diner is, and can reopen it as a restaurant. It wouldn’t need to be kitschy or remodeled with black and white tile, and other 1950s memorabilia. It’s awesome just the way it is!”